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Massive drop in fishing observed across 90% of global oceans

Landings ratio drops as fleets spread global reach since 1950

The expansion of industrial fishing expansion impacts 90 percent of global oceans, causing a massive decline in catches, researchers at the Universities of Western Australia and British Columbia reported.

Industrial fishing fleets have doubled the distance they sail to fishing grounds since 1950 but catch only a third of what they did 65 years ago per kilometer, according to data gleaned using the universities' Sea Around Us initiative.

By mapping the growth and spread of industrial fisheries, researchers found that these global trends were dominated by the heavily subsidized fleets of a small number of countries that have increased the total area fished from 60 per cent to 90 per cent of the world’s oceans.

“While most countries continue to focus their fishing efforts on local waters, Taiwan, South Korea, Spain and China have aggressively subsidized vessel and fuel costs to encourage their fleets to operate thousands of kilometres from their home ports,” said Lead Author David Tickler, a postgraduate student at UWA’s School of Biological Sciences.

Despite the geographical expansion, the catch rates of these fleets – as well as those of the other top 20 fishing countries – declined dramatically from over 25 metric tons per 1,000 kilometers traveled in the early 1950s to around 7 metric tons per 1,000 kilometers traveled by 2014.

Overall, these 20 countries are responsible for 60 million metric tons or 80 percent of the global industrial fishing catch.

Researchers also found that these historical expansions were most pronounced along the coasts and archipelagic waters of Southeast Asia, Africa, South America and the South Asian subcontinent.

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Massive drop in fishing observed across 90% of global oceans

Landings ratio drops as fleets spread global reach since 1950

The expansion of industrial fishing expansion impacts 90 percent of global oceans, causing a massive decline in catches, researchers at the Universities of Western Australia and British Columbia reported.

Industrial fishing fleets have doubled the distance they sail to fishing grounds since 1950 but catch only a third of what they did 65 years ago per kilometer, according to data gleaned using the universities' Sea Around Us initiative.

By mapping the growth and spread of industrial fisheries, researchers found that these global trends were dominated by the heavily subsidized fleets of a small number of countries that have increased the total area fished from 60 per cent to 90 per cent of the world’s oceans.

“While most countries continue to focus their fishing efforts on local waters, Taiwan, South Korea, Spain and China have aggressively subsidized vessel and fuel costs to encourage their fleets to operate thousands of kilometres from their home ports,” said Lead Author David Tickler, a postgraduate student at UWA’s School of Biological Sciences.

Despite the geographical expansion, the catch rates of these fleets – as well as those of the other top 20 fishing countries – declined dramatically from over 25 metric tons per 1,000 kilometers traveled in the early 1950s to around 7 metric tons per 1,000 kilometers traveled by 2014.

Overall, these 20 countries are responsible for 60 million metric tons or 80 percent of the global industrial fishing catch.

Researchers also found that these historical expansions were most pronounced along the coasts and archipelagic waters of Southeast Asia, Africa, South America and the South Asian subcontinent.

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